Posting Details
Position Information
Fiscal Year 2023-2024
Position Title Research Computing and Data Science Facilitator
Classification Title Senior Research Support Specialist
Department Center for Computational Research
Posting Number R230208
Posting Link https: // www. ubjobs.buffalo.edu/postings/44681
Employer Research Foundation
Position Type RF Professional
Type Full-Time
Appointment Term
Salary Grade N/E.79
Posting Detail Information
Position Summary
The Center for Computational Research (CCR) at the University at Buffalo
(UB) is seeking applicants for a Senior Research Support Specialist to
act as a research computing and data science (RCD) facilitator, enhancing
the technical assistance provided by the CCR technical team to faculty, staff,
students, and external customers of the University's research computing
facilities. In the role of RCD facilitator, you will be an integral part of
the research computing team charged with providing advanced computing
assistance to UB researchers. You will assist researchers and customers with
accessing CCR's clusters, writing batch scripts, utilizing various storage
options, installing software, and implementing computational workflows. You
will also assist with the development of documentation and training for
research groups and classes. In this researcher-facing role, you will act as a
liaison between the CCR technical team and the faculty and external customers
that utilize CCR's resources; translating technical concepts to non-technical
people and expressing pressing research needs to the CCR systems team. This
position offers opportunities to conduct research, participate on funding
proposals, attend research conferences, publish scientific papers, contribute
to open source software projects, and mentor students.
The ideal candidate for this position is:
a problem solver with excellent troubleshooting skills, a strong sense of
duty, and patience
an excellent written and oral communicator with the ability to work
effectively with both technical and non-technical people
effective working with a team of IT professionals with the ability to
self-direct and adjust to shifts in priorities
comfortable working in a Linux environment with experience in high
performance computing environments
someone who values and appreciates different perspectives and diverse
backgrounds, works to continually learn and improve, and interested in
mentoring students
Tasks include, but are not limited to:
In partnership with CCR's technical system staff, take ownership for
resolving help tickets from researchers, students, and external customers
involving the usage of CCR's computing infrastructure.
Install new software and upgrade existing software packages made available
to the general user community utilizing EasyBuild and Lmod. Assist
research groups with the installation of specialized software for their
research.
Act as a resource to the CCR technical systems team and bridge the gap
between them and the researchers. Translate ideas from researchers for
non-traditional use cases and requests for cutting edge technologies to
better inform the technical staff, helping make decisions for future
purchases and policies.
Onboard new research groups including training, workflow migration
assistance, and data transfer advice. Review research groups' processes
and recommend options to improve efficiency of resources. Monitor research
computing usage and engage with researchers that are not using the
resources effectively. Assist researchers with securing allocations on NSF
ACCESS systems, if CCR's resources are not sufficient for their needs.
Identify and implement new methods for providing synchronous (remote,
hybrid, and in-person) and asynchronous training to new researchers and
advanced topics for experienced researchers.
Write and update technical documentation in partnership with CCR's system
staff.
Mentor undergraduate and graduate student interns in various levels of
customer assistance, software installation, and HPC topics. Manage weekly
tasks, work schedules, and approve student timesheets.
Develop and maintain strategic relationships with academic departments to
raise awareness around the research computing services CCR provides.
Identify opportunities to work together on funding proposals with UB
faculty and colleagues from outside organizations.
Participate in professional organizations such as ACCESS Campus Champions,
EDUCAUSE RCD Community Group, Campus Research Computing Consortium, and/or
US-RSE to keep current with industry best practices.
Outstanding Benefits Package
Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal
rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also
focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic
pursuit – all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. Visit our
benefits website to learn about our benefit packages.
About the CCR
The Center for Computational Research is a leading academic supercomputing
center that maintains high performance computing and storage resources
dedicated to supporting the university's research activities. The staff are
comprised of high performance computing (HPC) specialists, computational
scientists, system administrators, programmers, software developers, and
database experts from a variety of backgrounds. CCR's mission is to enable
research and scholarship at UB, provide a wide range of guidance and services
to facilitate faculty led research including software development, data
analytics, and parallel computing, provide education, outreach, and training
at UB and in Western New York and foster economic development and job
creation. This position offers a hybrid work schedule allowing the incumbent
to work from their choice of locations several days per week. However,
currently the State University of New York system does not offer fully remote
positions. CCR's primary location is on the University at Buffalo's downtown
medical campus with access to mass transit, restaurants, stores, and many
social activities.
As an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer, the Research Foundation
will not discriminate in its employment practices due to an applicant's race,
color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and
veteran or disability status.
Minimum Qualifications
A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science with an emphasis on programming
and software engineering, or in a scientific or engineering discipline
with research and related software engineering experience
Strong interpersonal competencies including clear oral and written
communication skills
Experience with direct customer assistance in a technical field and
commitment to providing professional and responsive customer service
Experience with computer programming or scripting languages
Experience compiling, installing, and running open source software in
Linux environments
Preferred Qualifications
No one person will have all these skills or qualifications; however, these are
some desirable skillsets we'd like to see in candidates:
A Master's or other post-graduate degree in Computer Science with an
emphasis on programming and software engineering, or in a scientific or
engineering discipline with extensive research experience and software
engineering, is preferred
5 or more years' experience working in a Linux environment
Experience working in a high performance computing environment, preferably
academic research computing facilitation
Experience in debugging and tuning of software applications on HPC
clusters
Experience with common scientific libraries and applications
Experience with cluster batch computing (Slurm, PBS)
Experience with computational workflows involving any of the following:
machine learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence, computer
simulation and modeling, mathematical analytical techniques, genomics
Experience with software packaging & installation (EasyBuild, Spack)
Experience with statistical or mathematical modeling
Experience with parallel and GPU accelerated software (MPI and CUDA) and
workflows
Experience with containerized workflows and tools (Docker, Singularity,
Apptainer)
Proficiency in one or more programming languages relevant to research
computing: C/C++, FORTRAN, Python
Experience in developing and presenting technical training
Experience with the creation of technical content or documentation
Experience with mentoring students or management of staff
Physical Demands
Salary Range $75,000-$90,000.
Additional Salary Information
Work Hours
37.5 hours per week
Campus Downtown Campus
Posting Alerts
Special Instructions Summary
Is a background check required for this posting? No
Background Check Notification
Contact Information
Contact's Name Dori Sajdak
Contact's Pronouns she/her/hers
Contact's Title Sr. Systems Administrator
Contact's Email [email protected]
Contact's Phone 716-881-8934
Posting Dates
Posted 08/24/2023
Deadline for applicants Open Until Filled
Date to be filled 11/01/2023
References
Number of references required 3
Reference Cutoff Date
Instructions to Applicant
By providing the names and e-mail addresses of my references, I hereby
authorize either Human Resources or the applicable hiring department to
contact my references via e-mail to request a reference letter on my behalf.
Supplemental Questions
Required fields are indicated with an asterisk ().
After reviewing the University's mission statement (https: // www. buffalo.edu/president/vision.html), please state how your background and experience has prepared you to be effective in an environment that values diversity.
(Open Ended Question)
Please describe your background and experience in Linux environments, specifically compiling and installing software, programming and/or scripting, and batch computing.
(Open Ended Question)
Please describe a particularly challenging interpersonal situation you were able to overcome by using your communication and/or negotiation skills.
(Open Ended Question)
Please indicate your current employment affiliation with the University at Buffalo.
Faculty
Faculty Student Association (FSA)
Research Foundation Employee
State Classified
State Professional
UB Foundation
TA/GA
Student
No Current Employment Affiliation
How did you first hear about this employment opportunity?
AcademicKeys.com
CareerExposure.com
CareerWomen.com
Chronicle of Higher Education
DiversitySearch.com
GoogleJobs.com
HERCjobs.org
HigherEdJobs.com
IMDiversity.com
Indeed.com
LinkedIn.com
MBACareers.com
Conference
Personal Referral
UBJobs.com
Other
Documents Needed To Apply
Required Documents
Cover Letter
CV/Resume
Optional Documents
